Canadian whisky
Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are blended whiskies consisting of a mix of different whisky styles, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles. While most Canadian whiskies are based predominantly on corn-based whiskies, Canadian distillers have long included rye-based whisky for flavour; in Canadian law the terms "Canadian whisky" and "rye whisky" are interchangeable to refer to the exact same product, even when it is made with only a small amount of rye spirits.
Characteristics
Historically, in Canada, corn-based whisky that had some rye grain added to the mash bill to give it more flavour came to be called "rye".The regulations under Canada's Food and Drugs Act stipulate the minimum conditions that must be met in order to label a product as "Canadian Whisky" or "Canadian Rye Whisky" —these are also upheld internationally through geographical indication agreements. These regulations state that whisky must "be mashed, distilled and aged in Canada", "be aged in small wood vessels for not less than three years", "contain not less than 40 per cent alcohol by volume" and "may contain caramel and flavouring". Within these parameters Canadian whiskies can vary considerably, especially with the allowance of "flavouring"—though the additional requirement that they "possess the aroma, taste and character generally attributed to Canadian whisky" can act as a limiting factor.
Canadian whiskies are most typically blends of whiskies made from a single grain, principally corn and rye, but also sometimes wheat or barley. Mash bills of multiple grains may also be used for some flavouring whiskies. The availability of inexpensive American corn, with its higher proportion of usable starches relative to other cereal grains, has led it to be most typically used to create base whiskies to which flavouring whiskies are blended in. Exceptions to this include the Highwood Distillery which specializes in using wheat and the Alberta Distillers which developed its own proprietary yeast strain that specializes in distilling rye. The flavouring whiskies are most typically rye whiskies, blended into the product to add most of its flavour and aroma. While Canadian whisky may be labelled as a "rye whisky" this blending technique only necessitates a small percentage of rye to create the flavour, whereas much more rye would be required if it were added to a mash bill alongside the more readily distilled corn.
The base whiskies are distilled to between 180 and 190 proof which results in few congener by-products and creates a lighter taste. By comparison, an American whisky distilled any higher than 160 proof is labelled as "light whiskey". The flavouring whiskies are distilled to a lower proof so that they retain more of the grain's flavour. The relative lightness created by the use of base whiskies makes Canadian whisky useful for mixing into cocktails and highballs. The minimum three year aging in small wood barrels applies to all whiskies used in the blend. As the regulations do not limit the specific type of wood that must be used, a variety of flavours can be achieved by blending whiskies aged in different types of barrels. In addition to new wood barrels, charred or uncharred, flavour can be added by aging whiskies in previously used bourbon or fortified wine barrels for different lengths of time.
History
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, gristmills distilled surplus grains to avoid spoilage. Most of these early whiskies would have been rough, mostly unaged wheat whiskey. Distilling methods and technologies were brought to Canada by American and European immigrants with experience in distilling wheat and rye. This early whisky from improvised stills, often with the grains closest to spoilage, was produced with various, uncontrolled proofs and was consumed, unaged, by the local market. While most distilling capacity was taken up producing rum, a result of Atlantic Canada's position in the British sugar trade, the first commercial scale production of whisky in Canada began in 1801 when John Molson purchased a copper pot still, previously used to produce rum, in Montreal. With his son Thomas Molson, and eventually partner James Morton, the Molsons operated a distillery in Montreal and Kingston and were the first in Canada to export whisky, benefiting from Napoleonic Wars' disruption in supplying French wine and brandies to England.Gooderham and Worts began producing whisky in 1837 in Toronto as a side business to their wheat milling but surpassed Molson's production by the 1850s as it expanded their operations with a new distillery in what would become the Distillery District. Henry Corby started distilling whisky as a side business from his gristmill in 1859 in what became known as Corbyville and Joseph Seagram began working in his father-in-law's Waterloo flour mill and distillery in 1864, which he would eventually purchase in 1883. Meanwhile, Americans Hiram Walker and J.P. Wiser moved to Canada: Walker to Windsor in 1858 to open a flour mill and distillery and Wiser to Prescott in 1857 to work at his uncle's distillery where he introduced a rye whisky and was successful enough to buy the distillery five years later. The disruption of American Civil War created an export opportunity for Canadian-made whiskies and their quality, particularly those from Walker and Wiser who had already begun the practice of aging their whiskies, sustained that market even after post-war tariffs were introduced. In the 1880s, Canada's National Policy placed high tariffs on foreign alcoholic products as whisky began to be sold in bottles and the federal government instituted a bottled in bond program that provided certification of the time a whisky spent aging and allowed deferral of taxes for that period, which encouraged aging. In 1890 Canada became the first country to enact an aging law for whiskies, requiring them to be aged at least two years. The growing temperance movement culminated in prohibition in 1916 and distilleries had to either specialize in the export market or switch to alternative products, like industrial alcohols which were in demand in support of the war effort.
With the deferred revenue and storage costs of the Aging Law acting as a barrier to new entrants and the reduced market due to prohibition, consolidation of Canadian whisky had begun. Henry Corby Jr. modernized and expanded upon his father's distillery and sold it, in 1905, to businessman Mortimer Davis who also purchased the Wiser distillery, in 1918, from the heirs of J.P. Wiser. Davis's salesman Harry Hatch spent time promoting the Corby and Wiser brands and developing a distribution network in the United States which held together as Canadian prohibition ended and American prohibition began. After Hatch's falling out with Davis, Hatch purchased the struggling Gooderham and Worts in 1923 and switched out Davis's whisky for his. Hatch was successful enough to be able to also purchase the Walker distillery, and the popular Canadian Club brand, from Hiram's grandsons in 1926. While American prohibition created risk and instability in the Canadian whisky industry, some benefited from purchasing unused American distillation equipment and from sales to exporters. Along with Hatch, the Bronfman family was able to profit from making whisky destined for the US during prohibition, and were able to open a distillery in LaSalle, Quebec, and merge their company, in 1928, with Seagram's which had struggled with transitioning to the prohibition marketplace. Samuel Bronfman became president of the company and, with his dominant personality, began a strategy of increasing their capacity and aging whiskies in anticipation of the end of prohibition. When that did occur, in 1933, Seagram's was in a position to quickly expand; they purchased The British Columbia Distilling Company from the Riefel family in 1935, as well as several American distilleries and introduced new brands, one of them being Crown Royal, in 1939, which would eventually become one of the best-selling Canadian whiskies.
While some capacity was switched to producing industrial alcohols in support of the country's World War II efforts, the industry expanded again after the war until the 1980s. In 1945, Schenley Industries purchased one of those industrial alcohol distilleries in Valleyfield, Quebec, and repurposed several defunct American whiskey brands, like Golden Wedding, Old Fine Copper, and starting in 1972, Gibson's Finest. Seeking to secure their supply of Canadian whisky, Barton Brands also built a new distillery in Collingwood, Ontario, in 1967, where they would produce Canadian Mist, though they sold the distillery and brand only four years later to Brown–Forman. As proximity to the shipping routes to the US became less important, large distilleries were established in Alberta and Manitoba. Five years after starting to experiment with whiskies in their Toronto gin distillery, W. & A. Gilbey Ltd. created the Black Velvet blend in 1951 which was so successful a new distillery in Lethbridge, Alberta, was constructed in 1973 to produce it.
File:CR Gimli.jpg|thumb|Signage for the Gimli plant in Gimli, Manitoba. The distillery was built in 1969 for use by Seagram.
Also in the west, a Calgary-based business group recruited the Riefels from British Columbia to oversee their Alberta Distillers operations in 1948. The company became an innovator in the practice of bulk shipping whiskies to the United States for bottling and the success of their Windsor Canadian brand led National Distillers Limited to purchase Alberta Distillers, in 1964, to secure their supply chain. More Alberta investors founded the Highwood Distillery in 1974 in High River, Alberta, which specialized in wheat-based whiskies. Seagram's opened a large, new plant in Gimli, Manitoba, in 1969, which would eventually replace their Waterloo and LaSalle distilleries. In British Columbia, Ernie Potter, who had been producing fruit liqueurs from alcohols distilled at Alberta Distillers, built his own whisky distillery in Langley in 1958 and produced the Potter's and Century brands of whisky. Hiram Walker's built the Okanagan Distillery in Winfield, British Columbia, in 1970 with the intention of producing Canadian Club but was redirected to fulfill contracts to produce whiskies for Suntory before being closed in 1995.
After decades of expansion, a shift in consumer preferences towards white spirits in the American market resulted in an excess supply of Canadian whiskies. While this allowed the whiskies to be aged longer, the unexpected storage costs and deferred revenue strained individual companies. With the distillers seeking investors and multinational corporations seeking value brands, a series of acquisitions and mergers occurred. Alberta Distillers was bought in 1987 by Fortune Brands which would go on to become part of Suntory Global Spirits. Hiram Walker was sold in 1987 to Allied Lyons which Pernod Ricard took over in 2006, with Fortune Brands acquiring the Canadian Club brand. Grand Metropolitan had purchased Black Velvet in 1972 but sold the brand in 1999 to Constellation Brands who in turn sold it to Heaven Hill in 2019. Schenley was acquired in 1990 by United Distillers which would go on to become part of Diageo, though Gibson's Finest was sold to William Grant & Sons in 2001. Seagram's was sold in 2000 to Vivendi, which in turn sold its various brands and distilleries to Pernod Ricard and Diageo. Highwood would purchase Potter's in 2006. Despite the consolidation, the Kittling Ridge Distillery in Grimsby, Ontario, began to produce the Forty Creek brand, though it was sold to the Campari Group in 2014. Later, the Sazerac Company would purchase the brands Seagram's VO, Canadian 83 and Five Star from Diageo in 2018.